csyphrett

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix. Arthur Penhaligon has defeated Mr. Monday, and Grim Tuesday. Drowned Wednesday wants to give up her key. The problem is the other Morrow Days have turned her into a whale 126 miles long that eats everything in her path. CES

Re: xialin showdown Page 9- Once the limo stopped, Jade slowly got out and readied herself for some yelling she knew she would be hearing and headed inside the house. "Miss Lee." The butler nodded carefully. "Your father has heard there was some trouble at the tea house. He wants to talk to you. He doesn't seem happy." "Man, word travels fast, but yeah I already guessed that he would. Where is he?" said Jade. "He is in the library." The Butler bowed, black uniform gleaming slightly under the house lights. Bob Lee had built the library on the side of the mansion after buying it. He had stocked it with books he had read one after the other. It was his personal spot from which he ruled his criminal empire. "Thank you, Shang." said Jade as she turned and headed for her father's library, even though she would rather go take a long hot bath and sleep for about a week. She knew she could not and that she had to take responsibility for what happened at the tea house. So she walked up to the door of the library and knocked. "Come in." Bob's voice was deep as the ocean. It sounded calm, but that wasn't always a reliable sign. Jade opened the door and walked in and bowed to her father and then closed the door as she said, "Hello, Father, I was told that you wanted to see me." "Tell me of this trouble at the Tea House." Mr. Lee stood with his hands behind his back. "The police have already called. They want to speak to you since you were there." "Well, it's a long story and I don't think the police will believe me. What happened is that I went to our tea house for lunch and I ran into Mr. Woo and we were talking when out of nowhere the air around me got very cool. Then a man, or I should say a ghost of a man, showed up and saw me and said, ‘You are not my beautiful wife.' Then he said, ‘This is not my beautiful house. How did I get here?' I told him I was not his wife and this was my family's tea house and that got him really mad. He said we had no right to build it where he lives and I told him that he does not live here anymore and that he is not alive any more. That is what did it. He got so mad that he attacked me and started to rip the tea house apart. I told my bodyguard to get everyone out while I tried to stop him, and as you can see he did a number on me. But in the end he left. That is about it, so if there isn't anything else right now father, I would like to go take a shower and get cleaned and patched up before I talk to the cops." "This is an unexpected threat." Bob Lee looked down at the floor, with his heavy head. "I think you should deal with this. We can't run our business out of a place that can be attacked by some so-called ghost. Talk to the police, then start looking for a way to deal with this ghost."

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 3 The New York underground concealed many secrets from the world. One of those secrets was the bum wandering along the lower edge of Manhattan Island, keeping to himself. Occasionally other bums would see him and wave in recognition. He merely nodded but kept walking. "You can't turn your back on this, Buddy." His companion always appeared out of darkness, clad in shadow, walking with a stick that he didn't need. Gray hair completed his disguise as a human. "Sure I can." Buddy kept walking. This was an old argument. "I kept my part of the deal and look what I got out of it." "No one said it would be easy." The non-man glided after his recruit. "Protector of the universe is not flipping burgers." "I'm sure you say that to everybody you turn into a monster." Buddy turned, heading for a subway station. "You can't go back to your old life, Buddy." The man of darkness followed, limping fast with the help of his cane. "We've discussed this before." "Screw you, pal." Buddy started down the steps to the subway, layers of clothing shrugging around him. "I did my part. That was enough." Buddy paused between steps. He bent double. Then he fell down the steps to the landing at the bottom. None of the pedestrians tried to stop him as he rolled to the bottom. "Buddy!" The advisor rushed over to the entrance as fast as his lame leg allowed. "Buddy?" "That sucked." Buddy twisted his head back where it should be. "This is all your fault, V." "Why is it my fault?" V patiently waited for the explanation. He knew it was something convoluted that fitted a conspiracy theory. "If I hadn't signed the deal, I wouldn't have had a migraine put in my head, and I wouldn't have fell down the stairs, and twisted my head around on my neck." Buddy looked up at the other man, flesh pulled tight on his skull. "It's your fault." "We don't have time for this." V leaned on his cane, rolling his colorless eyes. "You have to find out what caused your episode, and do something about it." "Why?" Buddy's eyes lit with fire. "Obviously this is an event that threatens Earth, and perhaps the rest of the galaxy, if not the universe." V tapped his cane on the sidewalk. "And since you are supposed to protect the universe, it's your responsibility to find out the cause and stop it." "I don't have to like it." Buddy climbed up the stairs, hand on the metal rail for the public. "Quit whining and do your duty." V slid away in shadow, vanishing as silently as he came. "I don't expect anything else." "Quit whining, Buddy." Buddy stepped on the sidewalk, flesh changing as he moved. "Do your job, Buddy. Forget your life, Buddy. Save the world, Buddy." His clothes changed into a starry void as he walked down the street. Jaded New Yorkers got out of his way with varying looks of fear, astonishment, and lack of interest. A star field covered his face. Red suns were his eyes. Save the world, Buddy. Buddy walked down the street, fading with every step until he was gone. The busy walkers went about their business. If the world didn't end, they still had to pay bills, get groceries, and try to get their significant others to love them a little more. Buddy passed through several gates, trying to track back the feeling that had impinged on his brain. He felt the pain as a wave receding from him as he slipped between realities. Everywhere he looked, he saw fractures. He wondered what caused that as he slid along. Maybe he was going to have to save the world after all.

Re: The New Circle I hope so. All my characters are copied from email to eliminate board format problems. I don't have hero designer so that's the best I can do. CES

Re: The New Circle 2 Background Information: Space holds many governments at odds with each other. Jurisdictional disputes may take months, maybe years, to iron out as each sphere tries to shut out the others. Several industrial leaders, losing money because of these travesties of justice, decided to start their own police agency. The Interstellar Security Service is an invisible agency, working behind the scenes without any police powers to back it up. Agents are sent to trouble areas to solve problems as fast as possible. They are men/aliens without allegiance except to keeping the peace, and protecting the innocent. Bob Jones was recruited from Earth during the fifties. Bob worked for the FBI as a field agent. He was not one of Hoover's favorite people so he had a lot of dirty jobs designed to make him quit. He persevered, closing cases between the harassment of office politics. Jones stumbled on an ISS operation on Earth. They tried to make him believe that it was a Terran Government case. He traced them back to their ship, and saved the day with the help of his fists and a borrowed high tech pistol. He was recruited into the agency. The ISS academy trained him to use alien technology, speak many of the dialects of the galaxy, and briefed him on the cases the agency handled. Jones, nicknamed Cosmo by now, started as a field agent and has distinguished himself among the invisible men/women/things he worked beside until his retirement. Quote: "Jones, Cosmo Jones." Personality: Jones is professional, tending toward obsessive about cases. Applying his Terran sensibilities has gotten him a reputation for being black and white about things, but he has always tried to make things better for those touched by his occasional forays into their lives. Appearance: Jones is a normal human being with dark hair, brown eyes, and a small scar on his cheek. He dresses in suits that resembles the normal wear of his planet. Powers: Jones doesn't possess any superhuman abilities. His arsenal of gadgets and dirty tricks are standard issue from the ISS. This includes protective clothing, a side arm with changing ammunition, and a bag of special issue gimmicks supplied for each mission. The agency supplies a ship for missions. Typically this is a one seater with some type of cloaking device to prevent discovery by the planet's authorities. Bigger missions are allowed bigger ships with the knowledge that an agent can never let such a craft fall into anyone else's hands. Since the agency is not recognized by any other law enforcement in the galaxy, agents are also equipped with a mind wipe device that can be activated if they are captured by anyone who wants to know what force they represent. It is much like a suicide pill for agents who are about to be captured and interrogated.

Re: Character help. Frankenstein's monster? CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 2 Cassandra Vogler worked on the crystal mosaic on a table in her living quarters in the CORPS's building. It had taken a few months to gather the chips and place them just right. When she was done, she hoped to have a picture of anything in the world. It was an investment of time and labor that should help her prevent threats to her adopted family if she made it work right. It should work the same as the bracer she wore as Crystalmach. Hopefully it would protect the building, act as an amplifier, show her important events, do everything her personal crystals did with less effort. Cassandra fitted the last few squares in place, gluing them down with her magic. She stepped back to admire the rainbow hues dancing in the fragmented mirror. It looked beautiful. Pain ripped through her head. She dropped to her knees, reaching for her bracer. She needed a shield. Her crystal working shattered on her arm, spraying glass in the air. Her free hand came up in reflex to protect her face. A minor stab didn't pierce the shroud covering her brain with agony. She took a deep breath to scream and the torture was gone. Cassandra took a deep breath. Her hand indicated something was wrong. She looked down, noticing the blood dripping from her palm. A piece of crystal she worked with had entered her hand during that strange attack. Crystalmach touched the sliver in her hand. She concentrated. The piece of glass slid out of her flesh, closing it up as it went. The shard dropped to the floor as Cassandra examined the damage. Both her bracer and the giant mosaic were destroyed by whatever she had experienced. Her arm had several cuts, none as bad as the stab she had taken in her hand. Her work space was littered with glass, some of the furniture looking like strange porcupines with the spines sticking out the backings. She took a deep breath, glad that it wasn't worse than what she could see. Crystalmach took a breath and concentrated, holding her bracer up in front of her. Chips quivered around the room as she exercised her will. The glass flew from its landing places and returned to her wrist cover, fitting back into their spaces with the aid of invisible fingers. She clenched her fist when the focus was reassembled. Magic danced as the crystal lit up from within. I'll have to fix everything else later. Crystalmach left her apartment. She needed to find the others and check to see if they were all right. It was possible that the event had only happened to her. She absently fixed the cuts in her arm as she changed her clothes to the brown and yellow costume she wore on missions. Crystalmach entered the conference room the CORPS used for briefings. The Persian and Jonah Charles were already there, looking at the bank of televisions carrying networks from around the world. Charles's nasty smelling tobacco filled the air as he puffed on his pipe. One of his eyes had traces of blood marking the white. "You felt something." Crystalmach held her bracer out and scanned her employer. Everything looked normal for Charles according to her bracer. "Severe pain." Charles pointed at the talking heads with his pipe stem. "Some of our lesser brethren died from whatever it was that ripped through. Bodies were found. Preliminary causes reported are strokes and heart attacks." "Too many to be a coincidence." The Persian wore his purple jacket and gold cargo pants. The purple mask that wrapped around his face and head sat on the nearby table. "Not enough to be a focused attack." "Let's make sure there isn't one," said Charles. "This kind of thing is bad for business."

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix. Arthur Penhaligon just wants to return to his everyday life after defeating Mr. Monday, but when his family and home come under attack, he must once again stop another dishonest trustee, Grim Tuesday. CES

Re: Teen Guardians Wednesday the third Emp, Tachyon, Pusher 2:30 pm "Did you ever get these guys on your dad in the original time line?" Pusher went to the phone to call information. "It seems to me if you're supporting yourself, you can get a divorce. Their lawyers could help with that." Eric looked stunned "Actually... that was unheard of in my time line. I might be able to do that here. I'll have to keep that in mind." "Two words." Pusher's blank mask hid his inner thoughts. "Macaulay Caulkin." Patty's fingers wrapped around his hand and she gave him a smile. "Your decision. You know what I think, but I'll support you in whatever you decide." It wasn't just an empty promise from a fifteen-year- old; there was more there-the understanding of what such a promise meant, yet tempered with the knowledge that her abilities were limited. "Where do I bring the plates?" Pusher went to the door. "Let's get started. The school's empty. We can get attendance records and hit our next stop. Any clue how to get samples tested without Tammy? Her father has probably got her on lockdown now." "Not really, I was more of an inventor than anything else. I'd defiantly need Patty's help in the lab to figure the thing out." He looked at the two of them and smiled at Patty "So I guess we have everything we can do now, guess we should touch base with Hardball." "We can use the school lab-there's enough equipment there, the thing would be that we need enough time without attracting attention to do the right tests--and since we don't really know what we're looking for yet..." Patty shook her head and gave one last hand-squeeze to Eric. "Go ahead-let's see where he's sitting-maybe he's got more information than earlier." The teen agers arrived at the school in a few minutes of dodging people in the neighborhood. The doors were locked as Pusher had said. One touch of his hand busted the padlock. "Let's go inside," he said, looking around. Patty winced at the padlock. "Now they're going to look for vandals," she said, wiping her hands on her jeans, the samples tucked into the bag slung over her shoulder. "Well...let's do this, and please please please hope we don't get asked about this." She slid into the school, following the boys. "I'll get them a new one." Pusher led the way down to the science hall. There wasn't a chromatograph in sight, but there were plenty of beakers, Bunsen burners, and chemicals. Patty, in jeans and sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, made her way ahead into the lab, a pair of gloves covering her hands. "All right," she said, pushing back the hood to reveal a slightly pale face-B&E was not her desired way of doing things, but she was holding it together. "Let me get to work." The girl started in on what she could do with the equipment present-starting with a quick chemical analysis of the pad of paper. If she had time, she'll go to the salvaged samples of the school council man. The pad and ink were normal paper and ink. No chemicals, no residues, no built in explosives in case the victim ate it. The samples from Tutterow show that his flesh burned under heat. Observations show that something was in his throat for maybe twenty four hours wearing at the tissue before it turned white hot. There was no chemicals, or any outside influence as far as she could tell. Patty swore. "Dammit." She looked around at the two boys-and was surprised to find that they weren't there, probably still at the office doing whatever it was they were doing. "Eric?" Eric looked up from his own task at hand and over towards where Patty had called from "Yeah Patty? What's wrong?" Patty looked surprised at his response. "Sorry," she smiled, "lost track of where you were-I haven't got anything of any import here-just a bit of tracery of heat-but its not an innate power, as near as I can tell--seems like a 24-hour, well, time bomb." She gave a little sigh. "You? Find anything?" The girl put everything back in her bag that she could. "Attendance records before the event are solid." Pusher looked at the readout. "Knowing that it's a natural weapon has to be a great clue." "Yeah," Patty agreed, "but to know how she does it would be a big help--and which ones are the most likely?" she asked-never mind-we'll look at it when we get a minute." She smiled over at Eric. Pusher nodded. "I'm going to check our suspects' lockers." He headed away, list in hand. Eric smiled back at her. "Yeah, knowing that would certainly help us try and prevent her from killing someone else." he sighed putting a few things into his bag. "So what next? Call hardball?" "Umm...." Patty broke eye contact with Eric. "Might not be a bad idea-you've got his number and he doesn't particularly like me--maybe he's got more information to help put this puzzle together." She looked at Pusher as he stepped out the door. "Um..." "You're welcome to come along." Pusher looked over his shoulder. "I might need a feminine eye." Patty nodded. "Be right there, I guess." She jammed her hands in her pockets as Pusher left, her bag suddenly packed and ready to go. She looked at Eric. "Uh..." "Don't worry Patty. I'll call Hardball and catch up to you guys in a bit." Eric walked over to her and smiled placing his hand on her shoulder. "Heck I still have beach day promise with you, right?" He smiled at her "You better hurry after Pusher. If he does find the mad bombing girl very likely she'll have rigged a trap in her locker." Patty nodded, lifting her shoulder and lowering her cheek to press against his hand for a moment, a gentle, warm gesture that conveyed far too much information. "Damn hormones," she grumbled at him, lifting her head. "I hate puberty." "Your not the only one, but so far, it doesn't hurt much except the ego." he smiled sheepishly at her. Biting her lip, the girl turned and followed Pusher, her pack strapped to her back rather than on the table where it had rested a moment before. Pusher searched for the first locker on his list. Flipping his phone open Eric called Hardball. Eric's message box told him Hardball had not found anything at the school worth listing. His number rang for a few seconds before hooking into Hardball's mailbox. Patty eased up behind him. They found the first locker down in the science hall. Pusher turned the locker door to glass so they could look inside without disturbing anything. "Might have found the girl." was the only message Eric left on Hardball's answering machine as Eric walked, clicking off the phone and looking over at the two. "No answer but I left him a message. So have I already missed the search or can I help a bit?" "No this is the first locker on the list," said Pusher, indicating a glass door they were standing at. "Is this good enough for a search, or do you want to open it?" Patty looked at the stuff inside. "Darn it," she said, "I don't see anything suspicious-just books, makeup, notebooks..." She shook her head. "I wish people would who do bad things would just write it all down and put it in an envelope marked, "Clues" and put it where people can see it." Patty disappeared for a second and then reappeared. With a snap of rubber gloves upon her hands, she said, "Open it up." The search of the nine lockers indicated that the girls involved were ordinary, had hobbies, and seemed to be avoiding their future use of powers at the moment. The only thing that looked out of ordinary was that Blanche Devoureaux had hollowed out a space under her locker somehow. A hole had been blown through the metal flooring on her locker so she could pull it up with her finger to get to her secret stash, except the stash was empty. Patty popped the gloves off and shoved her hands into her back pockets, palms out and regarded that last locker. "If I were a gambler, which I'm not, I learned that lesson once and I'm not going to learn it again, I'd say it were Ms Devoureaux-blowing a hole in something and not having people notice would tell me she plays with things like that...or has powers like that." She moved back and nestled in under Eric's arm. "What next?" she asked both boys. Eric smiled as Patty nestled against him. "Well, next we should try and figure out where she is. Either she's playing good girl at home or shes already out and about. Other than that, anyone want to get a quick burger? We should be able to get her home address and head over in that direction to check to see if things are okay at the Blanche household." He looked over at Pusher. "Sound good?" Patricia nodded and looked at Pusher as her stomach growled. "Let's check her out--right now, for lack of any better evidence, she is at the top of the list of suspects which means we should at least track her down and keep tabs on her that's not my style I'm not a spy or anything and I'm hungry sorry, Pusher." "We can eat." The masked molecule master consulted his list. He wrote the Devoreaux address down for the couple. "If she's home, things should be real easy if she's the right girl." "Well, then let's get something on the way before heading over." Eric smiled a bit and started walking towards the exit for them, taking up his bag. Once they where out of here they could figure on food and at least figuring out the blanche girl. Patty flipped her hoodie back up, covering her hair. "Let's go." The members of the Teen Guardians quickly sojourned to their hangout near HQ for take out. Patty slid in first, making room for Eric and immediately began ordering... "Two double cheeseburgers and one of those big cheesy fries and chili on the side with that and a big chocolate shake and one of those salads too bleu cheese dressing and a big diet soda." She shrugged at Eric. "Sorry, I'm hungry." That's okay." Eric was still fairly stunned at how much she was going to eat but he figured she had to burn off a great deal of the food she ate just with the speed she could pull together. "I'll just go with one cheeseburger combo with a coke." he looked over the molecule teen while speaking to the burger barn clerk behind the register. "This orders to go, what would you like to order?" "A milkshake and a burger is good." Pusher had concealed his costume but he still held on his charge for emergency use if he needed to. As the order showed up, Patty grabbed up her bag and both drinks in their cardboard carrier and led the way back outside. "So where to next? she asked, slurping the dregs of the diet soda, the wrapper from one of the two cheeseburgers going into the trash can. "Let's see if Miss Devoureax is home." Pusher slowly worked on his food as they walked. Then they journeyed not more than a mile from the school to a pleasant looking place in beige and yellow. Trees in the yard were fiery as they waited for the full onslaught of winter, and the loss of their leaves. A small fountain threw water in the air from an endless circuit. Hardball 1:11 pm "Gotta go, see you at five" Anthony hung up the phone. "Okay, I'll move on. I was just interested in what was going on, what with all the stage and stuff and then that obvious super villan turned up. Have you called someone about that? I mean I pride myself on looking like trouble (and am obviously doing it well since your already on my case), but he was downright sinister. If I were you, I'd be more worried about what he left under the stage or something than in what some kid is doing standing outside..." He got on his bike and started it up "... Or maybe you should just wait for the actual cops to turn up. Wouldn't want you to get a hernia bending over to look." He laughed and roared off. Now he had an hour and fifty to kill before he was due to meet Casket. He wondered whether Ricky and Rabbit had seen anything at the docks (or had they been too busy staring longingly into each other's eyes?). Also he had to invite them to the double date with Talia. Best case: Ricky could put some mojo on her and get her to drop Anthony before he was forced to do it. Worst case: She'd turn out to be Heatbreaker knew his secret ID, was setting the team up for a trap, and he'd have to kill her. Whatever the case he needed to end it with her, the girl was driving him nuts. Maybe he should get someone to look into how many girls there were among the 'throwbacks'. At least they might be mature enough (even if one of them was a psycho). Andrew Johnson High School was directly southwest of the Grill. Anthony could get there in twenty minutes depending on whether he cut through surface streets or used the highway. He still needed to know whether the others were having any luck identifying Heartbreaker. He stopped and pulled out the 'Ball-phone' and called Eric. While having an ID in the underworld would be nice the Heartbreaker situation needed to take precedence. There was no answer to his call. Voice mail told him to leave a message. "School was non-educational. What about you? Should I meet you somewhere? Call me when you get this." *Damn machines. Now what?* He thought. He put the phone in his jacket pocket hopped on the bike and roared off. Maybe the ride would clear his head. Anthony heard sirens, and spotted police cars roaring up with lights blazing. Anthony moved to let them past hoping they were on their way to the school and were not after him (since as far as he could tell the worst thing he had done was leave a crime scene, and this was a little excessive for that). The police cars moved around the biker, heading for the freeway toward the rougher parts of town. Nariko 3:00 pm "I have certain...um...special abilities...", Nariko answered rather uncomfortably. Nariko's ordeal was over. The dog was gone to the pound. She was patched up. Her mother had brought clean clothes so she could have something to wear. The police had come and filled out reports. She was free to go home. First things first. During the drive home, Nariko retreated into her workshop and accessed the damage that the nasty dog had done. Several drawers had been pulled out, some of the plastic tubes had holes in them. Scratch marks from the chain around the dog's neck covered the floor. There was at least one place where he had marked his territory. Nariko growled out several angry curse words in both English and Japanese as she tries to deal with the worst of the mess. Even though part of her felt rather silly for feeling so, the gearhead girl felt somehow violated by the nasty beast disrupting the tidy order of her workshop. Then, shaking her head at the numerous scratch marks on the floor and making a mental note to deal with them later, she popped back through the portal and back into the car. "Nariko." Mr. Miyama's voice drifted from the front of the vehicle. "We think you should have a bodyguard until we find these kidnapers." The teen let out a resigned sigh. She knew that it was a very good idea, yet she wasn't especially enthused about having a potential "parental spy" following her around all of the time. "Um, okay Dad...", she said rather non-committally. "A little more enthusiasm, please." Mr. Miyama barely glanced in his mirror. "We were planning to go on a trip but we can't do that if you're in trouble." "A trip?", she asked, perking up just a bit. "Where are you planning to go?" Normally, she'd be *very* happy about the prospect of her parents leaving her with the house to herself for a while, but this time, she actually got just a little bit scared. "We found a pocket in the astromembrane that sits near Canopolis, the city of dogs." Her father frowned. "We hoped to explore it and bring back some artifacts. I'm not sure it's safe to do that now." "Well, why couldn't I just come *with* you? Wouldn't I be safer with you?" Nariko said naively, obviously having little concept of what she was actually asking. Just what the hell *was* the 'astromembrane' anyway...and where in the hell was 'Canopolis'? "I don't see why not." Mr. Miyama was silent while he thought. "It will be dangerous. You'll have to cut your hair for the protective helmet. We'll also have to get armor for you in case of trouble." Nariko's eyes grew wide. "Cut...my hair? Just how short would it need to be?" It seemed like a *dreadful* possibility to her since, after all, she'd gone nearly three years without a haircut and she was very *proud* of her long, curly and expertly coiffed hair! It would be a *terrible* sacrifice...was she really *up* to it? "I don't know." Mr Miyama nodded in the front seat. "After all you don't want to have it catch fire, or get caught in a gear, or anything like that." Nariko winced a little. "Well...what if I tied it up in a *bun* or something?" Inwardly, she was horrified at the very thought. She'd probably look like an old lady! "If you think that is for the best." Her dad had issued his warning. She knew from past experience that if something happened, he would tell her to grin and bear it since she had been told that could happen. She nodded slowly, immediately catching the ominous tone is her father's voice. She immediately pulled out her brush and compact and started fussing with her hair and makeup again. She shook her head at the sight of herself after the day's ordeal, although, to everyone *else*, she'd probably still look rather beautiful. Nariko experimentally plaited a few strands of her rather curly hair. Maybe she could straighten it and wear it *braided* or something? The vehicle reached the familiar streets to their household. Nariko spotted her odd looking house from down the block. It looked like a giant bell, and stood out from the cookie cutter homes around it. Nariko smiled when she spotted the odd-looking house that she had spent her entire life living in. It may have looked strange to most, but it looked like *home* to her. "We'll pull in and park." Mr Miyama headed for the garage door. "If you want to go with us, we'll put together a protective suit for you in no time." The front of the bell opened for the vehicle. Nariko's dad parked to one side of the round chamber. They got out, making sure the door alarm was on. Mr. Four helped Nariko out. "When are you planning to leave?", asked his blonde-haired daughter. "We had planned to leave tomorrow night." Mr. Miyama checked his watch. "We might have to postpone for the police to finish asking questions." "Thanks...", said Nariko with a polite and respectful oriental-style bow. "No problem." Mr. Four straightened his jacket. "If you don't need me any more, I'm taking off." "Thank you for your help." Mr. Miyama led the way to a person door next to the garage door. "I will call tomorrow with changes in plan." Mr. Four nodded before disappearing into the night. Nariko nodded and it only took a few moments of thought for her to come to her final decision. "Okay. I *definitely* want to go, so could you please start working on my suit, Dad?" "It will be dangerous, but you need to learn what we do sometime." Mr. Miyama rubbed his chin. "We'll get Mr. Four to guard you as much as possible." "Yes, father...", Nariko said with a deferential nod while thinking about her father's apparent reliance on that assistant in particular when it came to her protection. Was he hoping that she'd *fall* for him or something? Were her parents trying to play "matchmaker" *again*? For not the first time, the gearhead girl considered just coming right out and *telling* her parents that she was only attracted to girls. Could they *handle* it though? She stifled a sigh when she decided that she really couldn't. Dad might be able to accept it, but being told that her daughter was a lesbian would probably *kill* her mom... "I'll call the police and see if they have learned anything." Mrs. Miyama seemed calm now that they were home. "You might as well get started on the armor if you're really taking her with you." "Um, dad?", Nariko asks with an uncharacteristic lack of self-confidence, "Is there anything that I need to bring with me that isn't already in my workshop?" "The most important thing is the armor, Nariko." Mr. Miyama led the way to his workshop on the floor. "Some of the places we visit do not possess atmosphere, or the atmosphere is poisonous." Kaitido 1:00 pm Tammy Chen arrived home, dropped off by police car. Her father waved at the officers, thanking them for bringing his daughter home. "I was at the morgue when I heard the news," Dr. Chen said. "I'm glad you're all right."

Re: Teen Guardians Wednesday the third Emp, Tachyon, Pusher 2:30 pm "Did you ever get these guys on your dad in the original time line?" Pusher went to the phone to call information. "It seems to me if you're supporting yourself, you can get a divorce. Their lawyers could help with that." Eric looked stunned "Actually... that was unheard of in my time line. I might be able to do that here. I'll have to keep that in mind." "Two words." Pusher's blank mask hid his inner thoughts. "Macaulay Caulkin." Patty's fingers wrapped around his hand and she gave him a smile. "Your decision. You know what I think, but I'll support you in whatever you decide." It wasn't just an empty promise from a fifteen-year- old; there was more there-the understanding of what such a promise meant, yet tempered with the knowledge that her abilities were limited. "Where do I bring the plates?" Pusher went to the door. "Let's get started. The school's empty. We can get attendance records and hit our next stop. Any clue how to get samples tested without Tammy? Her father has probably got her on lockdown now." "Not really, I was more of an inventor than anything else. I'd defiantly need Patty's help in the lab to figure the thing out." He looked at the two of them and smiled at Patty "So I guess we have everything we can do now, guess we should touch base with Hardball." "We can use the school lab-there's enough equipment there, the thing would be that we need enough time without attracting attention to do the right tests--and since we don't really know what we're looking for yet..." Patty shook her head and gave one last hand-squeeze to Eric. "Go ahead-let's see where he's sitting-maybe he's got more information than earlier." The teen agers arrived at the school in a few minutes of dodging people in the neighborhood. The doors were locked as Pusher had said. One touch of his hand busted the padlock. "Let's go inside," he said, looking around. Patty winced at the padlock. "Now they're going to look for vandals," she said, wiping her hands on her jeans, the samples tucked into the bag slung over her shoulder. "Well...let's do this, and please please please hope we don't get asked about this." She slid into the school, following the boys. "I'll get them a new one." Pusher led the way down to the science hall. There wasn't a chromatograph in sight, but there were plenty of beakers, Bunsen burners, and chemicals. Patty, in jeans and sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, made her way ahead into the lab, a pair of gloves covering her hands. "All right," she said, pushing back the hood to reveal a slightly pale face-B&E was not her desired way of doing things, but she was holding it together. "Let me get to work." The girl started in on what she could do with the equipment present-starting with a quick chemical analysis of the pad of paper. If she had time, she'll go to the salvaged samples of the school council man. The pad and ink were normal paper and ink. No chemicals, no residues, no built in explosives in case the victim ate it. The samples from Tutterow show that his flesh burned under heat. Observations show that something was in his throat for maybe twenty four hours wearing at the tissue before it turned white hot. There was no chemicals, or any outside influence as far as she could tell. Patty swore. "Dammit." She looked around at the two boys-and was surprised to find that they weren't there, probably still at the office doing whatever it was they were doing. "Eric?" Eric looked up from his own task at hand and over towards where Patty had called from "Yeah Patty? What's wrong?" Patty looked surprised at his response. "Sorry," she smiled, "lost track of where you were-I haven't got anything of any import here-just a bit of tracery of heat-but its not an innate power, as near as I can tell--seems like a 24-hour, well, time bomb." She gave a little sigh. "You? Find anything?" The girl put everything back in her bag that she could. "Attendance records before the event are solid." Pusher looked at the readout. "Knowing that it's a natural weapon has to be a great clue." "Yeah," Patty agreed, "but to know how she does it would be a big help--and which ones are the most likely?" she asked-never mind-we'll look at it when we get a minute." She smiled over at Eric. Pusher nodded. "I'm going to check our suspects' lockers." He headed away, list in hand. Eric smiled back at her. "Yeah, knowing that would certainly help us try and prevent her from killing someone else." he sighed putting a few things into his bag. "So what next? Call hardball?" "Umm...." Patty broke eye contact with Eric. "Might not be a bad idea-you've got his number and he doesn't particularly like me--maybe he's got more information to help put this puzzle together." She looked at Pusher as he stepped out the door. "Um..." "You're welcome to come along." Pusher looked over his shoulder. "I might need a feminine eye." Patty nodded. "Be right there, I guess." She jammed her hands in her pockets as Pusher left, her bag suddenly packed and ready to go. She looked at Eric. "Uh..." "Don't worry Patty. I'll call Hardball and catch up to you guys in a bit." Eric walked over to her and smiled placing his hand on her shoulder. "Heck I still have beach day promise with you, right?" He smiled at her "You better hurry after Pusher. If he does find the mad bombing girl very likely she'll have rigged a trap in her locker." Patty nodded, lifting her shoulder and lowering her cheek to press against his hand for a moment, a gentle, warm gesture that conveyed far too much information. "Damn hormones," she grumbled at him, lifting her head. "I hate puberty." "Your not the only one, but so far, it doesn't hurt much except the ego." he smiled sheepishly at her. Biting her lip, the girl turned and followed Pusher, her pack strapped to her back rather than on the table where it had rested a moment before. Pusher searched for the first locker on his list. Flipping his phone open Eric called Hardball. Eric's message box told him Hardball had not found anything at the school worth listing. His number rang for a few seconds before hooking into Hardball's mailbox. Patty eased up behind him. They found the first locker down in the science hall. Pusher turned the locker door to glass so they could look inside without disturbing anything. "Might have found the girl." was the only message Eric left on Hardball's answering machine as Eric walked, clicking off the phone and looking over at the two. "No answer but I left him a message. So have I already missed the search or can I help a bit?" "No this is the first locker on the list," said Pusher, indicating a glass door they were standing at. "Is this good enough for a search, or do you want to open it?" Patty looked at the stuff inside. "Darn it," she said, "I don't see anything suspicious-just books, makeup, notebooks..." She shook her head. "I wish people would who do bad things would just write it all down and put it in an envelope marked, "Clues" and put it where people can see it." Patty disappeared for a second and then reappeared. With a snap of rubber gloves upon her hands, she said, "Open it up." The search of the nine lockers indicated that the girls involved were ordinary, had hobbies, and seemed to be avoiding their future use of powers at the moment. The only thing that looked out of ordinary was that Blanche Devoureaux had hollowed out a space under her locker somehow. A hole had been blown through the metal flooring on her locker so she could pull it up with her finger to get to her secret stash, except the stash was empty. Patty popped the gloves off and shoved her hands into her back pockets, palms out and regarded that last locker. "If I were a gambler, which I'm not, I learned that lesson once and I'm not going to learn it again, I'd say it were Ms Devoureaux-blowing a hole in something and not having people notice would tell me she plays with things like that...or has powers like that." She moved back and nestled in under Eric's arm. "What next?" she asked both boys. Eric smiled as Patty nestled against him. "Well, next we should try and figure out where she is. Either she's playing good girl at home or shes already out and about. Other than that, anyone want to get a quick burger? We should be able to get her home address and head over in that direction to check to see if things are okay at the Blanche household." He looked over at Pusher. "Sound good?" Patricia nodded and looked at Pusher as her stomach growled. "Let's check her out--right now, for lack of any better evidence, she is at the top of the list of suspects which means we should at least track her down and keep tabs on her that's not my style I'm not a spy or anything and I'm hungry sorry, Pusher." "We can eat." The masked molecule master consulted his list. He wrote the Devoreaux address down for the couple. "If she's home, things should be real easy if she's the right girl." "Well, then let's get something on the way before heading over." Eric smiled a bit and started walking towards the exit for them, taking up his bag. Once they where out of here they could figure on food and at least figuring out the blanche girl. Patty flipped her hoodie back up, covering her hair. "Let's go." The members of the Teen Guardians quickly sojourned to their hangout near HQ for take out. Patty slid in first, making room for Eric and immediately began ordering... "Two double cheeseburgers and one of those big cheesy fries and chili on the side with that and a big chocolate shake and one of those salads too bleu cheese dressing and a big diet soda." She shrugged at Eric. "Sorry, I'm hungry." That's okay." Eric was still fairly stunned at how much she was going to eat but he figured she had to burn off a great deal of the food she ate just with the speed she could pull together. "I'll just go with one cheeseburger combo with a coke." he looked over the molecule teen while speaking to the burger barn clerk behind the register. "This orders to go, what would you like to order?" "A milkshake and a burger is good." Pusher had concealed his costume but he still held on his charge for emergency use if he needed to. As the order showed up, Patty grabbed up her bag and both drinks in their cardboard carrier and led the way back outside. "So where to next? she asked, slurping the dregs of the diet soda, the wrapper from one of the two cheeseburgers going into the trash can. "Let's see if Miss Devoureax is home." Pusher slowly worked on his food as they walked. Then they journeyed not more than a mile from the school to a pleasant looking place in beige and yellow. Trees in the yard were fiery as they waited for the full onslaught of winter, and the loss of their leaves. A small fountain threw water in the air from an endless circuit. Hardball 1:11 pm "Gotta go, see you at five" Anthony hung up the phone. "Okay, I'll move on. I was just interested in what was going on, what with all the stage and stuff and then that obvious super villan turned up. Have you called someone about that? I mean I pride myself on looking like trouble (and am obviously doing it well since your already on my case), but he was downright sinister. If I were you, I'd be more worried about what he left under the stage or something than in what some kid is doing standing outside..." He got on his bike and started it up "... Or maybe you should just wait for the actual cops to turn up. Wouldn't want you to get a hernia bending over to look." He laughed and roared off. Now he had an hour and fifty to kill before he was due to meet Casket. He wondered whether Ricky and Rabbit had seen anything at the docks (or had they been too busy staring longingly into each other's eyes?). Also he had to invite them to the double date with Talia. Best case: Ricky could put some mojo on her and get her to drop Anthony before he was forced to do it. Worst case: She'd turn out to be Heatbreaker knew his secret ID, was setting the team up for a trap, and he'd have to kill her. Whatever the case he needed to end it with her, the girl was driving him nuts. Maybe he should get someone to look into how many girls there were among the 'throwbacks'. At least they might be mature enough (even if one of them was a psycho). Andrew Johnson High School was directly southwest of the Grill. Anthony could get there in twenty minutes depending on whether he cut through surface streets or used the highway. He still needed to know whether the others were having any luck identifying Heartbreaker. He stopped and pulled out the 'Ball-phone' and called Eric. While having an ID in the underworld would be nice the Heartbreaker situation needed to take precedence. There was no answer to his call. Voice mail told him to leave a message. "School was non-educational. What about you? Should I meet you somewhere? Call me when you get this." *Damn machines. Now what?* He thought. He put the phone in his jacket pocket hopped on the bike and roared off. Maybe the ride would clear his head. Anthony heard sirens, and spotted police cars roaring up with lights blazing. Anthony moved to let them past hoping they were on their way to the school and were not after him (since as far as he could tell the worst thing he had done was leave a crime scene, and this was a little excessive for that). The police cars moved around the biker, heading for the freeway toward the rougher parts of town. Nariko 3:00 pm "I have certain...um...special abilities...", Nariko answered rather uncomfortably. Nariko's ordeal was over. The dog was gone to the pound. She was patched up. Her mother had brought clean clothes so she could have something to wear. The police had come and filled out reports. She was free to go home. First things first. During the drive home, Nariko retreated into her workshop and accessed the damage that the nasty dog had done. Several drawers had been pulled out, some of the plastic tubes had holes in them. Scratch marks from the chain around the dog's neck covered the floor. There was at least one place where he had marked his territory. Nariko growled out several angry curse words in both English and Japanese as she tries to deal with the worst of the mess. Even though part of her felt rather silly for feeling so, the gearhead girl felt somehow violated by the nasty beast disrupting the tidy order of her workshop. Then, shaking her head at the numerous scratch marks on the floor and making a mental note to deal with them later, she popped back through the portal and back into the car. "Nariko." Mr. Miyama's voice drifted from the front of the vehicle. "We think you should have a bodyguard until we find these kidnapers." The teen let out a resigned sigh. She knew that it was a very good idea, yet she wasn't especially enthused about having a potential "parental spy" following her around all of the time. "Um, okay Dad...", she said rather non-committally. "A little more enthusiasm, please." Mr. Miyama barely glanced in his mirror. "We were planning to go on a trip but we can't do that if you're in trouble." "A trip?", she asked, perking up just a bit. "Where are you planning to go?" Normally, she'd be *very* happy about the prospect of her parents leaving her with the house to herself for a while, but this time, she actually got just a little bit scared. "We found a pocket in the astromembrane that sits near Canopolis, the city of dogs." Her father frowned. "We hoped to explore it and bring back some artifacts. I'm not sure it's safe to do that now." "Well, why couldn't I just come *with* you? Wouldn't I be safer with you?" Nariko said naively, obviously having little concept of what she was actually asking. Just what the hell *was* the 'astromembrane' anyway...and where in the hell was 'Canopolis'? "I don't see why not." Mr. Miyama was silent while he thought. "It will be dangerous. You'll have to cut your hair for the protective helmet. We'll also have to get armor for you in case of trouble." Nariko's eyes grew wide. "Cut...my hair? Just how short would it need to be?" It seemed like a *dreadful* possibility to her since, after all, she'd gone nearly three years without a haircut and she was very *proud* of her long, curly and expertly coiffed hair! It would be a *terrible* sacrifice...was she really *up* to it? "I don't know." Mr Miyama nodded in the front seat. "After all you don't want to have it catch fire, or get caught in a gear, or anything like that." Nariko winced a little. "Well...what if I tied it up in a *bun* or something?" Inwardly, she was horrified at the very thought. She'd probably look like an old lady! "If you think that is for the best." Her dad had issued his warning. She knew from past experience that if something happened, he would tell her to grin and bear it since she had been told that could happen. She nodded slowly, immediately catching the ominous tone is her father's voice. She immediately pulled out her brush and compact and started fussing with her hair and makeup again. She shook her head at the sight of herself after the day's ordeal, although, to everyone *else*, she'd probably still look rather beautiful. Nariko experimentally plaited a few strands of her rather curly hair. Maybe she could straighten it and wear it *braided* or something? The vehicle reached the familiar streets to their household. Nariko spotted her odd looking house from down the block. It looked like a giant bell, and stood out from the cookie cutter homes around it. Nariko smiled when she spotted the odd-looking house that she had spent her entire life living in. It may have looked strange to most, but it looked like *home* to her. "We'll pull in and park." Mr Miyama headed for the garage door. "If you want to go with us, we'll put together a protective suit for you in no time." The front of the bell opened for the vehicle. Nariko's dad parked to one side of the round chamber. They got out, making sure the door alarm was on. Mr. Four helped Nariko out. "When are you planning to leave?", asked his blonde-haired daughter. "We had planned to leave tomorrow night." Mr. Miyama checked his watch. "We might have to postpone for the police to finish asking questions." "Thanks...", said Nariko with a polite and respectful oriental-style bow. "No problem." Mr. Four straightened his jacket. "If you don't need me any more, I'm taking off." "Thank you for your help." Mr. Miyama led the way to a person door next to the garage door. "I will call tomorrow with changes in plan." Mr. Four nodded before disappearing into the night. Nariko nodded and it only took a few moments of thought for her to come to her final decision. "Okay. I *definitely* want to go, so could you please start working on my suit, Dad?" "It will be dangerous, but you need to learn what we do sometime." Mr. Miyama rubbed his chin. "We'll get Mr. Four to guard you as much as possible." "Yes, father...", Nariko said with a deferential nod while thinking about her father's apparent reliance on that assistant in particular when it came to her protection. Was he hoping that she'd *fall* for him or something? Were her parents trying to play "matchmaker" *again*? For not the first time, the gearhead girl considered just coming right out and *telling* her parents that she was only attracted to girls. Could they *handle* it though? She stifled a sigh when she decided that she really couldn't. Dad might be able to accept it, but being told that her daughter was a lesbian would probably *kill* her mom... "I'll call the police and see if they have learned anything." Mrs. Miyama seemed calm now that they were home. "You might as well get started on the armor if you're really taking her with you." "Um, dad?", Nariko asks with an uncharacteristic lack of self-confidence, "Is there anything that I need to bring with me that isn't already in my workshop?" "The most important thing is the armor, Nariko." Mr. Miyama led the way to his workshop on the floor. "Some of the places we visit do not possess atmosphere, or the atmosphere is poisonous." Kaitido 1:00 pm Tammy Chen arrived home, dropped off by police car. Her father waved at the officers, thanking them for bringing his daughter home. "I was at the morgue when I heard the news," Dr. Chen said. "I'm glad you're all right."

Re: The Composite Superman

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished Kolchak: The Night Stalker's Casebook by various. A lot of the stories are pretty good from a giant fish to the cancellation of a fictional Night Stalker tv show. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... White Night by Jim Butcher. A serial killer sparks a showdown between Harry and the White Court, Cowl, and a horde of ghouls. CES

Re: World Watchers Beta Team Bill The Blaster Collins- Detective and bounty hunter with eyes that act as teleport gates. He is able to pull any substance from anywhere and use it as an EB. Tends to wear a suit and tie with sunglasses to cover his large, strange looking eyes and the scar tissue around them. In combat, he tends to try to figure out an enemy's weakness and use that as his energy blast. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Moonstone has a second Kolchak Collection out; Kolchak the Night Stalker Casebook. It's fairly good so far. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Got a trio for you: Creepers by David Morrell. A band of trespassers explore old buildings to see how the past was lived. They enter the Paragon Hotel and things go down hill from there. The Curse of Arkady by Emily Drake. The Magickers are at home, but they still have to deal with the Dark Hand, and school problems on top of that. Darkfall by Dean Koontz. Evil Voodoo magician versus New York cop in a blizzard. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 1 The Chemist held in a scream as his eyeballs tried to jump out of their sockets. His hands covered his face as he staggered in the hall outside the operations center. Pain was a lava flow through his system as he concentrated on getting help. The door slid out of the way as the magician finally was able to work a little bit of a symbol to kill the pain long enough to operate. He found a chair, and dropped in it. His spell opened a small region in his head that allowed him to ignore the roar rushing through his blood. Then it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "You okay, buddy?" Kevin Reilly stood over him, coffee in hand. The operations officer sipped the warm liquid, eyebrow raised at his visitor. "I don't think so." The Chemist found that he couldn't move. His limbs refused to assist him. "Could you call Maker up here to the center. Something is wrong with me." "I've been telling you that for a while." Reilly went over to his computers, and keyed the intercom. "Maker, please report to Operations. I say again. Maker to Operations." While he waited, the Chemist performed several simple tests with his symbology. Everything came back that he was fine, better than a normal man of his age, and physicality. The pain hadn't come from inside. He was afraid of what it meant to him that something outside of his body had tried to boil him alive without warning. Maker arrived clad in her silver and black armor of tiny machines. She left her faceless helmet off, the face underneath thin but still attractive. Her gray eyes questioned him before she said a word. "Something bad just happened." The Chemist tried to stand but couldn't. "I need you to go over any observational data for anomalies." "Let's take a look at you first." Maker acted as the Magistracy's medic when needed. Her nanotechnology allowed her to fight things on a cellular level. The FDA had her prototype cancer cure in testing and planned to release it in small doses sometime. They worried the nanotech would go crazy in a host and wreck more than it fixed. It hadn't so far. Maker put her helmet together, took pictures with a camera in her gauntlet. Her manner said she hadn't found anything wrong with her colleague. "Everything looks normal." She doffed the helmet. "What's going on? Is this some kind of prank?" "He came in here and collapsed in the chair." Reilly sipped more coffee. "He looked bad off and asked for you." "I think something is wrong with the world." The Chemist adjusted his sunglasses. "I just want to check on it." Maker nodded. The Chemist was weird, but he knew things that no one should know, or be able to find out. The fact he trusted her to do this search instead of doing it himself meant more than he said. It meant something had happened and he was scared to try to explain it since he didn't know the cause. Maker created her helmet again, and plugged into the operations network. The teleporter the team used was plugged into a satellite relay system. Very few people knew those satellites could be used to observe the ground as they passed overhead. The capability needed to be there so the Magistracy wouldn't be reassembled in stray material in the target zone. "All right." Maker didn't sound happy behind her featureless helmet. "I found something. There was some kind of eruption in Kansas a minute or two before Kevin paged me." "I have to get out there and look around." The Chemist tried to stand again, and made it with effort. "Something bad is about to happen." "We should sound an alert." Maker unplugged from the system, standing also. "I need you to get the others ready in case I'm right." The Chemist tried to smile. "This could just be a false alarm." "We could be having a barbecue for the pigs flying out my butt," said Reilly. He looked at them, looking at him. "I know, I know. Fire up the cannon, Reilly. We have to get somewhere as fast as scrambled molecules can go."

Re: The New Circle Cosmo Jones 1 Mark, Crown Prince of Yugopotamia, looked at his thin tentacles secured to the granite wall behind him. Pastel green skin flushed a darker shade over how he was so easily tricked, and then thrown in this dark, dank cell at the base of a castle he had been touring in hopes of buying. It was a pleasant cell, but he missed his freedom. One expected the attempted ransoming every now and then. Mark had did himself when he needed the money to buy some toy his parents had denied him. He had gotten his first planet buster that way. That stuff happened to other people, not to the royalty of a fairly wealthy planet. Mark sighed again. Small taps sounded outside his cell. He strained to hear what was going on. He knew he was supposed to be used for a main course. Maybe the cook was just checking his utensils before coming in and talking to Mark. Would you like to be roasted, or broiled? Roasted is good for me, thanks. The door opened to reveal a human holding some kind of pistol, straitening a black jacket with his other hand. He bared his teeth in delight at seeing the helpless Mark. "Good evening, your majesty." The human entered the cell, producing the keys to the manacles around Mark's limbs. "I'm Cosmo Jones. I'm here to rescue you." "How did you find me?" Mark's flat face broke in a grin of relief. "Did you bring me a weapon? I wish to dispense royal justice." "No time for that, I'm afraid." Jones undid the manacles. "We only have a limited time before our transport leaves and we're stuck here." Mark quivered his tentacles, glad to be moving again. The idea that he was on a time limit seemed much to bear. On the other hand, he was unarmed and surrounded by people who wanted to eat him. "Please follow me and be quiet." Jones led the way to the door. "I will try to get you home without too much more bother." "I understand, human." Mark glided across the stone pavers on his many lower body tentacles. "Let us go." Jones led the way pass knocked out guards to an elevator leading out of the prison. He checked his watch, before pushing the call button. The doors opened immediately. His hand gestured for Mark to hurry. The prince stepped into the elevator, followed by the human. "Won't they know we're in this conveyance?" Mark felt trapped like a stel rat, even though the cab was moving up and away from his cell. "I rigged the detection devices to ignore us." Jones kept checking his watch, looking at the floor indicator. "There may be some trouble. I want you to stay behind cover until it is safe for you to come out." "What if I don't want to." Mark had dealt with other races. He knew he could give as good as he got. "I'll have to tranquilize you and make you look like a coward that ran from trouble instead of a warrior prince." Jones's weapon was still in his hand, and Mark didn't know enough about humans to determine if he was bluffing. "Stay close and out of the way, and things will be good." "I understand," Mark said, pressing into a corner away from the doors and his rescuer. "Spray." Jones stepped to one side, waited for the doors to open. Energy bolts sliced into the cab. He returned fired blindly. Silence reigned after the brief exchange. He looked around the edge of the elevator opening. "Target." "Let's go." Jones led the way, searching for more guards ahead.

Re: The Magistracy's Legion Thanks guys. I appreciate it. CES

Placeholder for me to find in a day or two CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... No, I'm the wrong one. I apologize for that. Looking at the illustrations of the covers reminded me that Jim Ironheart believed aliens lived in a pond near a mill. Cold Fire has that windmill on the cover. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I don't know anything about politics so I can't make a call on that. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... No, I think COld Lightning is the right book. The Bad Place has the reporter trying to figure out how this guy can be in place to save lives across country. He has mulitple personality and one half is the hero while the other half is the villain. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I haven't read the Scar but I agree with Vest's thoughts. The various cast members of Iron Council acted in ways that flew in the face of logic for the most part. The only ones that stood out as acting like normal human beings with normal motives were Toro, the priest, and the whisper smith. Everybody else had whole blocks devoted to explain how their actions weren't fanatical craziness but instead the march of history whatever that is. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Edit: My favorite Koontz superpower was the power of teleportation one of his villains got. How did this villain acquire the power you may ask? His hermaphroditic mom/dad used dope, messing up the genetic code, impregnated himself/herself, and the child was born with its testicles inside its body. Ergo, he can teleport. I'm not kidding. I think that was Cold Lightning. It it was, that whole family was messed up. The lesbian incestous sisters that could control cats. The other brother who could teleport but mixed things up, and that's what saved the day at the end of the book. CES